Look At Moi....

I’ve followed the American election campaign kinder the same way I watch a clip on MTV which is usually when I’m between the laundry and motivation. I stand; I look wearing my facial screensaver convincing myself that I know the artist and the song they’re singing. Like many things in my life I pretend. I nod my head thinking I recognise the song and move on to finding something else to avoid my dirty underwear.

For a moment I did switch MTV off. I had followed the Democrat primaries to a certain extent this year in that, after years of mystery I finally came close to understanding how the primary system actually operates. Coming from a traditional Westminster democracy, I wasn’t very familiar with the electoral process for the President of the United States. I was also a Hilary supporter. I thought and I still think it is time for a woman to have a crack at being the leader of not only the Union but the free world. To my disappointment she bowed out in June and Barack Obama became the Democrat Nominee for the November election.

I then lost interest and reverted back to my MTV interpretation of American politics. Not even Sarah Palin ignited my interest that much although I liked her glasses and she is kinder charismatic in an ambitious cheerleader hating homosexual way. Still she didn’t get me to pay more attention than a lost disco tune.

In the last couple of weeks though, I’ve paid more attention as the world’s biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s has unfolded. The financial tsunami that is the credent crunch which we’ve all been aware now for some time has finally come to shore. And America has seriously sneezed. And like the saying goes, when America sneezes the rest of the world gets a cold. America is in trouble to its core and we need to pay attention to this presidential election.

Australian politics is very different to American politics. Generally we like our leaders to be the underdog; we like Mr Corner Store or Mr Suburban Solicitor; someone we could see our mothers have over for a Sunday Roast. In a way we like blandness in that we equate it to resilience and security. It’s what kept John Howard in power for 11 years. Kevin Rudd is just an updated fat free version still maintaining the Howard sex appeal of wet paper. The alpha male exceptions to this rule have been the former PMs Bob Hawke and Paul Keating who injected the Australian political landscape with their rogue cowboy style. Most of the time though we want out leaders to be equally at home firing up the barbie as firing up the parliament. Americans on the other hand like their leaders to be leaders in every sense of the word. Presidential candidates resemble movie stars and their campaigns movie blockbusters. It’s like the Oscars on a loop. The trouble is all the red carpet and couture tend to detract from the actual candidates’ policies.

So it was for the first time yesterday that I actually turned MTV off, sat down for the Presidential debate and listened to what each candidate had to say. Being gay it is naturally assumed that you lean to the left side of party politics. I’ve never fallen under that cliché. If anything I’ve always had issues with parties such as the ALP and the Democrats who have a stranglehold over a reputation for being “progressive” when in fact they are just as conservative, or more so than their right wing equivalents. This together with my wanting Hilary in the oval office, I wasn’t an automatic convert to Obama.

This debate was focussed on foreign affairs but considering the disastrous economic events of the last two weeks, the issue of the economy was at the forefront. In all honesty neither candidate could explain where they are going to get the money from to support their economic policies particularly when the $700 billion financial markets rescue package is passed by Congress. They both failed in this regard.

However Obama did dominate the rest of the economic portion of the debate, arguing that the Wall Street disaster was the fault of the Bush administration’s anti-regulation, pro-corporate culture. He called for a major overhaul of the financial regulatory system. McCain however fumbled his way through the economic points resorting to generalizations about greed and corruption. He seemed quite lost and demonstrated little understanding of the regulatory failures which have lead to the current market crisis.

As expected, McCain was stronger on foreign affairs issues than Obama but he did at times sound like a poor man’s Ronald Reagon constantly referring to his “I know best” experience and the naivety of Obama. He came across as patronizing and arrogant and his scare mongering was bordering on the laughable. When he said that he sees the letters “KGB” when he thinks of Vladimir Putin, I was waiting for the canned laughter. It never came.

The most interesting part of the debate was the body language. McCain never locked eye contact with the television audience or Obama once. It was very strange and didn’t assist his argument at all. I kept yelling out “Look at moi! Look at moi!” It made McCain seem quite old and arrogant; whereas Obama continually maintained eye contact with his audience and particularly McCain. This worked in his favour. He came across with candor and warmth. You felt that when he talks about change, he actually means it. Whereas McCain sounded like a 20^th Century hangover echoing the same sentiment that has lead America to its current disastrous state.

The debate still lacked details such as when and how Obama intends to withdraw all troops from Iraq, but it was good to finally move off the red carpet and hear these candidates argue their policies. For some time I thought Obama was nothing but a one hit wonder; he had a catchy tune, was clever with words and had a good stylist. Yesterday I changed my mind.